White Feathers
by Piercing Thorn
Summary: Slight crossover/based on the Swan Princess. Naru calls the gang to England to help investigate a medieval castle that looks like it was built yesterday with a crystal blue lake behind it. What happens when Mai goes missing and their only clue is a pure white swan that stares after them day after day?
1. Chapter 1

Yay! New story time. Like I said before, this is a little bit of a crossover and based upon the Swan Princess, one of my favorite childhood movies aside from anything disney, so... enjoy it!

Disclaimer: nope! I don't own Ghost Hunt or the Swan Princess

* * *

It had been three months since he left. And it was the exact three month anniversary that she got the call. One that told her to gather her things and the rest of the team; their plane was due to leave in two days.

Mai had thought the phone call odd, but who was she to question her mercurial boss? He had disclosed no real details about the case, only that he needed people he could work closely with; closely requiring they know his true identity and were trustworthy enough to keep their mouths shut about who he was. Apparently there was no team in England that came up to par. Mai sighed, her memories colliding with reality and she found herself thinking that he would never change. Nonetheless, she made her small carry-on ready for travel' packing a few choice articles onto the bag before scurrying off to confront the others.

Upon arriving at each and every location Mai found that all had received an e-mail with their itinerary and some traveling advice, courtesy of Lin no doubt, with collaboration on Naru's part. The message of each electronic correspondence was brief, curt, and to the point. So like the man they all knew, Lin had provided all other information. There was no reason not to go they supposed, nothing of any real importance was going on that would affect the plan and Naru obviously needed their assistance with whatever it was so they all agreed to meet at John's parish before heading to the airport.

Tokyo international, you don't have to visit to know what it's like. Strangely enough, everything went off without a hitch and they were seated comfortably in first class. The Davis', Martin and Luella obviously, were repaying them for coming by making their travel as smooth and welcoming as they could. Nearly all dozed off in the first three hours of the plane leaving the ground save for one short and bubbly brunette.

She was nervous, not only from never having been out of the country but also from the prospect of seeing her boss, the man she loved and was coldly rejected by again. Mai sighed when some small, self-loathing part of her rose and reminded her that if it weren't for her own abilities; which were useful for gathering information about the specters they faced, then she wouldn't be on the plane, in other words, he wouldn't need her at all and for some reason that cut Mai deeper than his rejection of her had. When the better part of herself rose to combat the darkness and slight contempt for herself Mai quickly smacked both cheeks, admonishing herself for even letting her thoughts go in that direction. Mai checked her cellphone, there was still another three hours to go, maybe just a little powernap wouldn't hurt…

It was the booming voice of the captain that woke Mai several hours later. Quickly she glanced up from the position she had fallen asleep in to notice that her friends were waking in much the same manner. Ayako and Masako having fallen asleep of their seat companion; Monk for the older woman and John for the younger. Mai suppressed a giggle; it was cute to see them like that. She took a glance at the empty seat next her and silently wished that Yasu had been able to come, but his grandfather –who the boy had been very close with- had died a couple days prior and Yasu's mother had insisted that he stay to attend the funeral.

Over the phone Yasu had joked that he might need SPR when he came back. Apparently this was the relative Yasu had inherited his mischievous side from, and said relative would get a kick out of scaring the pants off the family that had come to mourn him. Mai laughed remembering that, but reality sank in as she realized that Yasu; the man she thought of as one of her brothers –Gene being the other-, was not here besides her joking and teasing her. He was back in Japan, her home some odd -3,000 was it? - miles away, and she was here in England, trying to be if use to Naru and whomever else he brought along with them.

Upon getting through airport security, the team found a driver with their welcome sign written in kanji, only those who could read it would understand. They followed him and piled into his car, more of a van really, without a word. Upon arriving at the Davis Psychic Research Institute, their chauffer led them to a board room and instructed them to wait there.

Roughly ten minutes afterward, Naru, Lin, and Madoka strolled in along with two others. A man and a woman who looked slightly older than even Monk and Ayako. Naru's parents, they presumed.

"Welcome to England." The woman began in fluent Japanese. "I'm Luella Davis and this is my husband." She gestured to the man beside her. "Firstly I'd like to thank all of you for taking the time to come out here. I'd also like to thank you for taking such good care of our Noll while he was in Japan."

"Mother, refrain from saying things like that." Naru muttered under his breath. Mai hid a silent giggle behind her hand and looked back to Luella.

"Oh Noll, don't be so uptight. Now," she turned back to SPR. "Noll and Lin have told me about you, but would you mind introducing yourselves for us?"

"Certainly." Monk stood up. "I'm Takigawa Hoshou."

"I'm Ayako Matsuzaki." The shrine maiden stood.

"Masako Hara." The small medium stood.

"John Brown." The blonde priest gave a smile.

"And I'm Mai. Mai Taniyama." Mai stood nervously.

Luella looked at her for a moment, and then broke into a grin better fitted on the Cheshire cat. "Really? So _you're_ the infamous Mai. Martin and I have heard all about you."

"What? Really?" Mai started blushing and fiddling with the hem of her skirt.

"Oh yes." Luella affirmed. "Noll's barely talked about anything else since he got home. In fact-"

"Mother that's quite _enough_!" Naru cut in. obviously he was not pleased that his mother had divulged that information, truth or lie it may be. "Now if we could please get to what I had all of you come here for." He brought out a case file from some hidden compartment in his black coat. "The case."

"Well, what's the deal?" Monk asked when Naru made no move to start explaining it.

"Recently a group of our researchers discovered the remains of a medieval castle, one that's in oddly good condition considering how long it's been standing there and how long it's been abandoned." Naru began; taking out pictures the explorers had taken of the castle upon its discovery to illustrate his point. Mai had to admit, the castle looked breathtaking, and also slightly creepy and ominous. "Upon gaining entry into the castle the same thing had been observed as the outside. The tapestries and furnishings appear to be untouched by time, very unusual don't you agree." Nods from the group were his answer. "Delving further into the corridors footsteps were heard, none coming from the researchers, and when they followed them they would always catch sight of a shadow disappearing behind a corner. However, when following the direction the shadow had gone in, they were met with a completely empty hallway."

"Wow." It was all anyone could say.

"So what exactly do we have to do with this?" Ayako asked.

"I need a team I can work closely with, and the employees here simply do not fit those qualifications." Naru replied. "Can I count on your assistance for this case?"

"If you couldn't, do you honestly think we'd be here?" Monk asked with a grin.

"Very well." Naru affirmed, snapping the file shut and nodding towards his parents. "I believe my mother has volunteered to show you all where you'll be staying for tonight."

"Wait… For tonight?" Mai asked as everyone stood.

"Of course Mai." Naru replied in his usual you're-an-idiot tone. "The castle's bedrooms should be more than adequate, especially since we're unaware of what happens during the nighttime hours." Gesturing to his mother the older woman smiled and motioned for the others to follow.

The next morning everyone piled into a gigantic van that thundered down the main roads of London before heading out to the countryside. Once deep into the English dirt roads it pulled alongside a deep wood. Even the foliage of the trees looked ominous and Mai was a little frightened to be going near it.

"Alright everyone." Naru said opening the door and sliding out. "The paths from here on are too narrow for the van to travel on and the roots in the trees stick out too far for us to clear a path humanely. So each of you must grab a box and carry it with you."

Everyone groaned in response but complied. Following Naru and Lin single file down the path that supposedly led to the castle they were to investigate. Mai was surprised to see even Masako was carrying something. Granted the box was full of wires only but she was still pulling a little weight.

They walked for what felt like hours to those carrying the heavy equipment. In reality it was only twenty minutes at the most when it came in to view. An old castle considering the style in which it was built, yet it looked as Naru had said; untouched by time. Silently, they carried equipment into the court, rather this huge room where two grand chairs that had once belonged to the lord and lady of the castle sitting high on a slightly elevated platform. Naru had dropped his box that contained parts for the shelving unit and began to unload it. The others took this as a sign that this room was to be the base.

After setting up all the equipment, a rather fast twenty-five minutes thanks to everyone's collaboration, Naru had split up the rest into teams to set up the cameras in certain locations where multiple reports of paranormal phenomena had occurred. He and Lin stayed behind to monitor the progress on the set-up.

"Mai, move that camera a little more towards the left." She heard over the walkie-talkies given out to everyone as they left the base.

Mai grumbled a bit about the narcissistic perfectionist but did as she was asked, muttering something about why they were here if Masako couldn't sense anything. It was the truth, upon entering Masako had said that there was a rather odd aura emanating from the building but nothing she could identify as a spirit.

"That's better, point the lens at the corner." She heard Naru's voice again as she adjusted the machine once more. With the last of the cameras for her and Monk, they returned, more than happy to be out of the dark hallways and seemingly endless hallways the edifice possessed.

However, Mai's relief was short-lived as a curt "Mai, tea." was called out in her direction. Off she went muttering about 'stubborn, arrogant, chauvinistic, narcissistic, tea-addicted' bosses as she went.

No sooner had she gotten to the kitchens of the building when she heard the sound of laughter ringing out at her. She turned around and saw a small boy, no older than nine years old standing in one of the many doorways out of the room. He had red hair, and dark, almost black eyes. He looked as though he was playing pretend, fitting the castle's time period in attire with a loosely clasped cape flowing behind him. Wait a minute… Hadn't Naru said something about this place being closed off to the public until it was given the all clear? Then why was this boy playing in it.

"What are you doing here?" Mai asked. The boy just continued laughing, though he turned around and ran out the door in response. "Hey wait!" Mai called as she ran after him, easily following him as he turned corner after corner after corner. "You aren't supposed to be here!"

Still the boy ran on and still, Mai followed him. However, she lost track of him in what looked to her as the castle dungeons.

"Hey little boy?" she called, desperately hoping to hear his voice as reassurance that he was okay, or that she wasn't crazy and had just imagined the whole thing. "Where are you?" she called, but silence met her voice in response.

The dungeons, as it so happened, were located beneath the castle, and there also happened to be a lake nearby. So the water dripped in making this realm of the castle dark, dank, and bitterly cold. Mai wrapped her arms around herself, despairingly wishing she had brought a sweater or at least some form of communications because she had no idea on how to get out of the labyrinthine abyss she'd gotten herself into, and it would most likely some hours before anyone was sent down here to look for her. Mai slid down and sat in a curled up position against one of the walls. With every second it got harder and harder not to fall asleep. The cold was so sensation numbing, and the steady drip-drip of the falling water made for a soothing beat. Mai felt her eyelids grow heavier and heavier, but she willed herself to stay awake. Fear. She was afraid that if she closed her eyes now she'd fall asleep and never wake up. Though Gene would welcome with open arms no matter the situation, something told her he'd tell her she needed to wake up, that she wasn't going into one of her dreams which help figure out what the kind of spirit was causing the phenomena and why they were still on earth in the first place.

"No." she told herself slowly, struggling to stand in the process. "I can't fall asleep now."

No sooner than the words had been said, Mai felt a sharp pain in the back of her skull. Like someone had bludgeoned her over the head with a rather hard, thick, and dense object. Her eyes involuntarily closed, and the blackness started fading in.

How long did it take one girl to make a cup of tea and come back? Surely not as long as it was taking Mai to return with his tea Naru mused. She'd been gone ten minutes and nothing was off with any of the machinery they had put up. The sightings of the specter or whatever this thing was hadn't shown any signs of being violent. So where was Mai?

"monk," Naru said without breaking gaze with the monitors before him. "Go and see what's taking Mai so long."

"Sure thing Naru," The jovial monk replied. "Do you want me to bring a walkie with me? Mai left hers here."

Naru glanced up at the mention of what Mai had done. Didn't he tell everyone not to wander around alone in the castle without some way of contacting the others? Oh right; Mai had been assisting Lin with carting another box back at the time and had so missed. He had just assumed one of the others had filled her in on never leaving the base alone without the handheld device. Inwardly he cursed himself for not making the fact perfectly clear to Mai but to be fair his mind had been preoccupied at the moment she came back. Mostly with how to deal with the situation involving Mai his mother had put the both of them in the night before. So what if it was the truth, the damn aggravating woman didn't need to blurt it out to the heavens. Sighing Naru massaged his temples, tracking Takigawa's progress on the screens.

"Naru," he heard over the receiver. "Mai's not in the kitchens. There's a teapot here so she must have come here first but then something happened though it doesn't look like there are signs of a struggle, paranormal or otherwise…"

Naru bit his lip in order to keep his groan of frustration from coming out. Of course, danger-prone Mai strikes again. If only there was some way to find out where she'd gone. The last frame he'd seen her was at camera thirteen, which happened to be right by the kitchens. One of the better models bought in the last few weeks with better audio quality and… Naru abruptly halted his inner monologue. Of course! The camera picked up a wide range of audio and the kitchen was a large sparsely decorated room, any sounds out of the machine's range would eventually echo into it. He replayed the audio from a few seconds after Mai had vanished from the screen. At first he heard the usual bustling sounds that accompanied Mai while she got the necessary ingredients to prepare the tea. Shortly after they started though, they stopped. The camera picked up laughter that definitely was not Mai's. Then he heard the question Mai posed to whoever it was that was there while they were not supposed to be and then the clatter of running feet over the stone floor. Oddly enough, there was only one set sound, Naru guessed to be Mai's which meant that she had been tricked and whomever it was she'd been chasing was not living.

This time, however, he let out the word with a hiss. "_Dammit!_"

Slowly, slowly, slowly until they were fully opened. Mai felt consciousness barging in on her black oblivion. She yawned and stretched her arms; they felt like lead, and longer? than usual. Mai rolled her head around to loosen up her neck and noted that it felt longer too. She looked down to see a white-feathered chest poking out where hers was supposed to be. That and the fact that she was floating on water instead of lying on some stone floor like she should have.

"What the- where am I?" she cried out, though it came out as more of a squawk. Luckily there was enough light for here to peer at her reflection, she saw a pure white swan with dark brown eyes staring back at her. "Ah!"

She heard that familiar laughter, the one that had gotten her into her first mess in the first place. She saw the boy standing there at the edge of the pond, or whatever it was that she was in and paddled over to him. As she drew closer she saw the boy's youth melt away to that of a bitter old man, one who kept his coloring surprisingly well.

"Glad to see you awake _princess_." He sneered.

"Who-who are you?" Mai asked, voice quivering.

"Me?" the man asked in reply. "I am Rothbart, master of this castle. Welcome to Swan Lake my dear." He ended the sentence with an evil curl of his lips.

"Swan Lake?" Mai asked, looking at the scenery around her. She recognized that the building behind her was the castle she and the rest of SPR were investigating. "Wait, how did you make yourself a little boy?" she asked.

"A little help from the Dark Arts my dear." Rothbart replied. "The same reason you're a swan at the moment."

"At the moment?" Mai repeated.

"Yes, look up at the sky." Rothbart ordered.

Mai did as she was told and caught a glimpse of the nighttime sky; the moon was almost directly above her.

"I don't get it, what's so special about the moon in the sky?" Mai asked.

"Let me explain how the spell works." Rothbart began. "You see every day you will be a swan. But every night when the moon reaches the middle of this lake…" he trailed off as the moon had done so.

A bright light formed a circle where Mai was floating. The water rose up and around Mai as she rose up with her wings. The water formed a bubble around her with light pouring out of it. Suddenly, the water dropped, and there Mai stood. Actually stood. The spell had affected her physically so now her once short pixie-cut bob was now a flowing river of cinnamon waves ending at her waist. She had a pure white satin shoulder-less slip that ran into the water. Another slip of pure white lace hung over it, intricate designs showing some bits of flesh in the tiny holes between the gauzy fabric running down her arms and ending with a trail of the cuffs, the rest of the lacy slip ran with the satin into the water. Other than that, she was still the same girl.

"You turn back into a human." Rothbart finished. "Well you do provided you're on the lake."

"And is there any way to break the spell?" Mai asked.

"Yes." the dark magician answered. "You marry me, and I can regain my human form. And we'll take back this castle and rule it legally, as king and queen."

"Yeah, one problem with that." Mai replied.

"And that would be?"

"This isn't the fourteenth century anymore Mr. Rothbart. You can't rule this castle the way you want."

"A minor inconvenience." Rothbart dismissed the excuse.

"Well there's also the fact that; you're outta your mind if you think I'm gonna marry some creep like you!" Mai was sure if words could be used to kill someone she would have preferred her to be made of the most toxic substance on earth as she spat the response in Rothbart's face.

"Oh. So you're in love too?" Rothbart questioned, though it sounded more as if only he was meant to hear it.

Mai felt her face heat. "So what if I do?"

Rothbart came back to reality and shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Your choice is either to marry me, or remain a swan for the rest of your days!" he spat back as he disappeared in a cloud of dark purple smoke.

Mai sighed; "I'd rather be a swan than marry that guy." she murmured to herself looking around at the castle behind her.

Suddenly she noticed that there was an open hallway with spaces for people to come in and out of. This was perfect. She could get inside and find one of the cameras until someone came to get her and she could tell everyone what happened. She ran towards the open enclosure as fast as she could. But when she tried to go through the shaped, door-less entrances it was though there was a five foot thick wall preventing her from doing so.

"What the-" she started before hearing a soft chuckle emanating from the other side. She turned and saw a familiar black-haired, blue-eyed boy sitting against the base of a tree watching her antics.

"Gene!" she cried running over to him.

"Hello Mai." Gene replied. "It's been a while hasn't it?"

Mai nodded. "I've missed you so much. But what are you doing here? Shouldn't you have passed on or something?"

"And where would that leave you when reliving the memories becomes too much for your heart to handle?" Gene asked in reply.

"Good point." Mai conceded and sat down beside her friend. "So how come I'm able to see you awake now?" she asked.

"I'm not really sure myself. But at least you won't be alone during the daytime." Gene offered in response. "Besides, even if the others figure out what happened I'm the only one who can understand you until nighttime."

"You speak swan?" Mai asked, amusement and surprise evident in her tone.

"No, you only speak 'swan' because your outer body is a swan. Your spirit is still a human though." Gene answered her.

"That makes sense, but can I go into the castle as a swan?" Mai wondered aloud.

"I'm afraid not." Gene replied. "Rothbart put a spell on the castle so that only all humans can enter and leave the castle. And as of right now, you're not _all_ human."

"Oh," Mai said studying the water. "I just wish there was some way to break the spell other than marrying that creep." She said bitterly.

"Maybe there is." Gene said cryptically. "Why don't you sleep on it and find out?"

"But-" Mai protested.

"I promise I'll still be here when you wake up." Gene assured her. "Now go to sleep."

"M'kay." Mai replied letting her eyes close and her consciousness drift away.

It was black, she couldn't see, she couldn't feel. But she could hear. Voices. All around her voice spoke, saying the same thing over and over again like a broken record or a song with a glitch in it.

"_What must I do?"_ a male voice asked.

"_You must make a vow of everlasting love… everlasting love…everlasting love…"_ a feminine voice repeated before the conversation continued.

"_I make it."_ the male voice replied.

"_Yes, but you must prove it to the whole world as well."_ the female voice told in response.

"_Make a vow of everlasting love… prove it to the whole world…"_ the voice echoed one more time before blackness completely drowned out all sights, all sounds, all thoughts of being. And with the coming of the darkness Mai lost herself to oblivion once more.

* * *

well there you have it. also I know alot of you are waiting for chapter 11 of Let the Games Begin so how bout this; I'll post what I have so far every so often and you guys can review on that until I finish the whole chapter. Sound good? well.. tell me when you guys Review!


	2. Chapter 2

I LOVE you guys sooooo much! thanks for all the awsome reviews. I'd also like to thank all the people who favorites this story from only the first chapter. Unfortunately this isn't quite as long as the first, but it's still pretty long. not bad for two day's worth of work I believe.

Disclaimer: I own niether Ghost Hunt nor the Swan Princess

* * *

"Monk, you and Ms. Matsuzaki search the east wing of the castle. Ms. Hara and Father Brown, search the west. Madoka, stay here and watch the base while Lin and I investigate the southern wing. We need to find Mai and fast; we're unaware of what hostility this spirit possesses and what abilities we might have. There's no telling what happened to Mai." Naru tried to keep his voice as steady as he could but it was difficult when the girl he… enjoyed teasing was missing and they had no layout of the castle to aid where she might have gone.

The castle was old, and no doubt it had a few hidden passages and it just figures that the only person who could tell them where to find them to check for a missing person was the one missing. Naru berated a bit on letting Mai wander the halls without an escort. If he managed to get her back before exorcising the spirit he would most definitely send her back to his parents. He paused, thinking of his mother; maybe it would be safer just to keep her in the base with him. Probably safer and less embarrassing on his part.

Everyone, save for Mai because she was missing and Madoka; who was in the base, was in the kitchen having come in the door Mai had they knew she hadn't come out that way. There were three other doors to choose from, and hence why there were three teams of two. No one bothered to argue with who they got paired up with, now was the time to search.

"But Naru," Masako interrupted. "How will we know which way Mai is if we can't find her?" contrary to popular belief Masako and Mai _were_ friends, they were only hostile when Naru came into the picture.

Naru thought about it for a second. "Knowing Mai she unwittingly dropped a belonging of hers wherever she was when she went missing." He answered. "That is what she'd most likely do, seeing as how her instincts work."

Everyone else nodded and they spilt up. Naru and Lin ran through the open hallway near the lake behind the castle. Naru figured that Mai might have walked by here but the camera set up near here showed no signs of it. Looking out as though maybe she'd been taken into the woods, all he saw was a pure white swan… looking directly at him. Naru stared, the swan stared back. Naru stared harder, the swan remained unblinking. Naru stared as hard as he could without glaring, the swan moved it neck back slightly and quickly looked down at the water. Naru could almost see the redness heating a=the cheekbones of the bird for some reason. It nagged at him, but Naru shrugged it off when he heard a radio signal come in.

"Naru?" Monk's voice crackles over the devices.

"What is it?" Naru replied.

"It's Mai…" Monk told him rather hesitantly.

"You found her?" Naru interrupted, a little too quickly for it to be his normal curtness.

"No." Naru felt his spirits fall. "But I found something that definitely tells she was kidnapped."

"What is it?" the nervous edge in his voice was almost audible now.

"It's the key. We found it in the dungeons."

"The key?" Naru was a little confused, surprisingly.

"The key to her old house." Monk explained. "You know; the one she gave to Masako through astral projection as a good luck charm in the Urado mansion?"

"Right. She never leaves that thing behind…" Naru trailed off. There was no doubt about it now, Mai _had_ been kidnapped. He looked over at the lake again; the swan was still there; watching him and Lin intently. However, when it saw that Naru had seen it it quickly swam to the bank on the far side, almost out of Naru's line of vision. He picked up the radio.

"Everyone," He said curtly. "Come back the way you went and go through the middle door. I think I may have found something."

Mai watched Lin and Naru from her safe place on the far bank where she knew that penetrating blue stare wouldn't have as much effect on her as it did when she was up close. It had been morning when she woke up so she as her swan-self had spent it talking to Gene while floating on the surface of the water. Speaking of which, she and the spirit of the boy she considered her big brother had been having an interesting conversation about how long they thought it would take to figure out what had happened when the footsteps had echoed through the hallway. Mai swam closer to get a better view and to her surprise, found Naru and Lin looking for something there. Was it her? No, it couldn't be. She wasn't of any importance; they must have thought she went home; fed up with Naru's attitude towards her.

But when Naru looked her way she was too stunned to do anything but stare back, it continued until his gaze got so intense Mai looked to the water, feeling her cheeks heat even though it wouldn't show over her feathers. The radio signaled and Naru answered it, Mai was too busy trying to return her temperatures to normal to pay attention to what was being said and when she looked up again, studying Naru and Lin were seeming to look for whatever it was they were looking for. Naru turned towards her again and Mai swam away before things ended like earlier.

'_Why was he staring at me like that?'_ Mai wondered. _'I mean I'm a swan, I look completely different and Naru isn't smart enough to figure out the swan he sees is me with a single glance. That's just no humanly possible.'_ She paused in her musings, something dawning on her. '_Well, I'm a human girl who got turned into a swan by something called "The Dark Arts"; I really shouldn't be saying things like that.'_

"So Mai," Gene decided to break the girl out of a thought process that was clearly beginning to upset her. "If my brother decides to investigate you, you might need to find a way to get them out before night falls."

"Why?" Mai crooned.

"Because, I have a feeling that Rothbart won't leave you alone until you say yes."

"Well, that's never gonna happen." Mai remarked bitterly. "I'll reject him 'til the day I die if Naru can't fix this."

"But until the spell is lifted, you'll live as a swan." Gene informed her.

"Wait, as long as I'm a swan; I'm immortal?" Mai questioned, tilting her swan head to the side in confusion.

"Yes." Gene nodded. "Only Rothbart or a proven vow of everlasting love an break the spell." He explained.

"Yeah," Mai agreed. "I remember hearing something about that in my dream. Wait a minute," she paused, anger beginning to build. "You _knew_? Why didn't you say anything _last night_?"

"You didn't ask." Was Gene's cheeky remark.

"Yes I did!" Mai protested.

"No, you followed my suggestion." Gene corrected gently.

"Oh," Mai shook her head. "But getting back to the point. Why would you think they'd look for me here?"

"Well, you are here aren't you?" Gene replied.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean they'll look for me here first." Mai pointed out.

"We'll just have to wait and see won't we?" Gene advised.

Mai nodded soundlessly.

"Alright Naru, we're here. Now tell us what you found." Ayako demanded.

"If you really want to know, look to the left." Naru replied.

Everyone did so and only saw a white blob in the distance.

"What is it?" Monk asked.

"I believe it's a swan." John said squinting to see properly.

"Precisely, there was no record of anything living here when the researchers came." Naru explained.

"So you think the swan has something to do with Mai?" Ayako asked amusedly, a tone of mocking evident in her tone.

"We've seen stranger things." Masako countered.

"So, how do we test this then?" Monk wanted to know.

Naru pulled out a bag of bread he had nicked from the kitchen. "We feed it."

"Why?" everyone save for Lin, who knew what the plan was, asked.

"We need to gain enough trust from it to let me try and psychometrically read it." Naru explained.

"Have you done this sort of thing before?" Ayako asked.

"On objects and people. I can't say I remember having done it on an animal, but it should give us some information on something about the castle. Possibly the spirit as well."

"Are you sure this will work?" Monk asked.

"Only one way to find out." Naru took out a piece of bread, balled it up, and threw it out into the water.

Mai perked her head from on her back where she had been sunbathing when she heard the 'splash'. There, half submerged was a chunk of bread. Having only eaten plants that grew in the shallow parts of the lake for breakfast the water-logged bread looked extremely appetizing to her swan brain.

She swam over and gobbled up the bread in no time flat, and then noticed that there was another piece floating close by. It continued on until she was on the bank with the castle. Naru began throwing ripped-up pieces now that there was no water to help it go down easier. The last piece he dropped was inside the castle, and Mai wanted to get at it; but she knew too well the consequences of trying. But she couldn't tell her friends why she couldn't enter. So she stared at the bread longingly, not noticing the others staring at her oddly.

"Why isn't it going after that piece?" Ayako whispered. "It ate all the others, but it doesn't seem to want to come in to the castle."

"Hmm…" Naru thought before moving out of the hallway through one of the more decorative than functional doorways. The swan made no move to show any fear or move away. Confidently, though almost hesitantly he put his hand out to touch the swan's head. The swan seemed to sense what he was doing and moved its head closer as if giving permission. However, as soon as his fingers touched the plume of the bird's head both man and beast passed out.

When Mai awoke, she saw Gene standing there and he seemed to be waiting for her to get up so he could show her something. When she did and took his hand she was transported to the front of an entirely different castle. She saw a young boy who reminded her of Naru –it was because of the telltale scowl on his face- standing with a woman who reminded Mai of Ayako except, much, much older. Both looked decidedly English and wore what Mai assumed was the garb of royalty. They seemed to be waiting for something at the gates.

Suddenly an older man whose features were reminiscent of Monk's –although English as well- rode in on a black horse with a little girl on his lap; they too, dressed as though they were of the elite. Mai stared slack-jawed at a young, English version of herself.

"Dear Uberta." The Monk lookalike said warmly. "As lovely as ever." He continued as she bowed ever so slightly. Then the king –as Mai decided that's what he was- looked over at the boyish Naru. "And who might this strapping young man be?" he glanced at 'Uberta'. "Young prince Derek no doubt."

Uberta bowed. "Welcome to our fair kingdom dear William. And to you, young princess."

William lifted the girlish Mai off the horse and down to the ground. She looked up at the queen with shyness evident in her big brown eyes whilst putting her hands behind her back. She looked up at her father, who nodded in the direction of the prince and queen. She seemed to gulp and turn that way with a gentle push from behind.

"Go on Derek." Uberta said putting an arm behind him and ushering him forward. The boy barely moved. "Dear go on." She said as the boy turned the other way.

"Mother." Derek protested.

"Derek!" she rebuked sharply

The young prince and princess were pushed towards one another, both looking like they really didn't want to do this.

Derek stared at the ground saying, "Hello Princess Odette, I'm _very_ pleased to meet you."

Odette curstie3d like practiced. "Pleased to meet you Prince Derek." But the boy had already walked away.

"Ah, ah, ah, ah." Uberta said wagging her finger. The prince turned around resignedly and walked back.

He took the princess's hand and raised it with his own. He looked disgusted and Odette shot him a glare. He did it quickly, he kissed her on the top of her hand (not the palm for those of you who might misunderstand) and then pulled away. A "yuck!" escaping his lips as he wiped off his mouth.

"_I can't believe I'm stuck with her all summer."_

The thought left the boy's head in the form of a lyric.

"_I'll bet she doesn't wrestle, hunt, or box!"_

He looked over at Odette and the girl responded by taking a fighting stance and the prince fell back a step, startled by it.

"_He looks conceited."_

This time it was the princess's voice that rang out from her head.

"_What a total bummer."_

The prince's thought cut in as he crossed his arms.

"_If I get lucky I'll get chicken pox!"_

It was now sang in unison by the kids, both looking at their parents and pointed at one another and hopes of getting out of this. Their parents merely pointed back to the other sternly.

"_So happy you could come."_ The prince said with a smile that was more forced than real.

"_So happy to be here."_ The princess replied sickeningly sweet, grabbing the folds of her skirt and slightly dancing as she turned while the prince bowed somewhat mockingly.

"_How I'd like to run!"_ the kids sang through clenched teeth.

"_This is not my-" "This isn't my idea" "Of fun!"_

They both turned away and crossed their arms, not wanting to give the other the time of day.

Later the kids were having a duel with mock sword, in which Mai was happy to see this version of her kicking the young prince's butt at it, rather hard she might add. Meanwhile the parents strolled together talking, blissfully oblivious to the kids' roughhousing.

"_The children seem to get along quite nicely."_

Uberta seemed to mix between singing and speaking this.

"_We'll join our lands if this arrangement picks."_

William sang back jovially, marking the spot on a man nearby.

"_My dear king William that's my point. Precisely."_

The queen sang taking the instrument and poking him in the chest with it.

"_It's such good parenting!"_

"_And politics. So happy we agreed."_

"_I think we've got a deal."_

"_Derek's quite a catch."_

"_This is my-" "This is my idea!" "Of a match!"_

The kids burst in, Odette lunging at Derek, the parents restrained them by the arms, Uberta giggling as she grabbed the princess.

"And such fun." She commented.

It continued on like this, Mai saw Odette and Derek forced to interact with one another as their ages changed. She even laughed at seeing an adolescent Odette being forcibly pulled from her carriage by her father while Uberta looked up at Derek –who had climbed and was now resting comfortably in a tree branch too high for her to climb in her age- and pointed her finger down at the ground.

Now she saw both Odette and Derek as adults, looking much like Naru and she did now, both in their rooms; and using their body to barricade form their parents. They complained, by singing again.

"_For as long as I remember we've been told we'd someday wed. Every June until September…"_

"_All their pushing and annoying hints."_

The prince, his voice now a deep baritone, took over.

"_I've got bruises with their fingerprints!"_

The princess practically groaned as her father and another servant grabbed her by her arms and hoisted her out of the wagon.

"_I can do much better I am sure."_

Derek thought as his mother pushed him into a ballroom.

"_He's so immature!"_

Odette remarked as she was spun into the room from her shawl. Her long hair loose and her dress being the same one Mai wore when she transformed back. She glanced over her shoulder to see Derek staring at her, with his mouth practically wide open.

"_I see him staring and my knees start buckling. I see inside him and my doubts are gone."_

Odette went weak-kneed looking at Derek.

"_She started out as such an ugly duckling. And somehow suddenly became a swan."_

Derek thought taking in the sight of Odette, turning towards him and placing her hands together in front of her waist.

"_So happy to be here."_ Odette curtsied.

"'_Til now I never knew."_

"_It is you I've been dreaming of."_ They came together and started waltzing.

The song reached its climax; Derek and Odette off waltzing in their own little world of powder pink and baby blue hues.

"_This is my idea."_

"_This is my idea."_

"_This is my idea, of…"_

An angelic choir sang the word "love" as Derek and Odette began a sweet kiss.

And with that, Mai awoke. She was startled, and slightly embarrassed that she'd have the temerity to kiss Naru, Derek rather, like that. Apparently if reincarnation exists, you become the complete opposite of who you were first born as. Glancing over she saw Naru waking up from having passed out himself, and Mai wondered why no one had come to move him. A glance over at where her team was answered that question; they had all passed out too. No doubt they each had a role in the past life Mai had dreamt of and were currently, Mai assumed, reliving the memories almost as if they were watching a movie; with the main character looking exactly like them. Then Mai noticed the dusky atmosphere , oh no.

It was getting to where the moon was almost over the middle of the lake. Quickly, Mai managed to get away from Naru before he could get his bearings and grab at her –apparently the memory reel was leaving him disoriented and confused- and into the center of the water's surface.

When the light of the moon hit her feathers, Mai felt the sparks start to come and the water rise around her. She knew Naru was probably watching, but there was nothing she could do; an instinct in her had made her move before she could think, and now Naru would know. On the bright side though, at least he'd now know where she was.

When the transformation was complete, she looked towards the far side of the bank and heard Gene calling out to her.

"Hide him! Now Mai!" he warned.

Mai was luckily not slow upon registering this information and ran to Naru, helping him get to his feet before quickly shoving him headlong into some bushes.

"Don't ask any questions right now. Just stay there and stay quiet!" she hissed under her breath as she shoved him. Naru didn't get a chance to react before she covered him with the branches.

As soon as she finished Rothbart came strolling to the other side of the lake.

"Odette!" he called to her.

Mai ran to him. "It's Mai." She corrected. "And if you're here about your proposal, my answer is still no."

He scowled, but said nothing until noticing the heap of people across the water. "What are these people doing here!" he demanded, raising an arm to probably obliterate them.

"No wait!" Mai cried, grabbing onto him. "They passed out hours ago, they didn't see me transform. No one did I swear!"

"No one?" he questioned dubiously.

"Yes." Mai nodded vigorously. "For all they know I'm still missing." She assured him.

"Very well. However, now I'm in too bad a mood to try any form of courting. You're off the hook, for tonight anyways." The spirit snarled before walking away.

Mai waited a good five minutes, before rushing back over to Naru's hiding place and pulling back the foliage. She stifled back her laugh and tried not to fall to the ground in hysterics. There sat Naru, supported by his elbows, legs spread sort of awkwardly with leaves and twigs stuck in his hair and a bewildered expression plastered on his face.

Mai offered a hand, he took it rather begrudgingly. Once he stood he turned to Mai.

"What just happened?" was all he could say.

"That man you heard was the one who did this to me." Mai started explaining. "He put me under some sort of spell where I'm a swan during the day, but as soon as the moon reaches the middle of the lake I turn back into a human. Though I look like this." She gestured to her appearance.

"So why didn't you come and find us. Why stay out here on this lake all day?" Naru asked.

"I can't, the spell prevents me from entering the castle. And the only possible way for me to break it is for me to agree to marry him!" Mai wailed in anguish

"And is there no other way to break it?" Naru asked calculatingly.

"There is," Mai replied. "But it's not possible."

"Tell me what it is." Naru implored.

"Well," Mai began, hesitating because she knew Naru would never believe her. After all he hadn't the first time so she decided to choose her words carefully. "The man I love must make a vow of everlasting love for me and prove it to the world." She admitted.

Most might not have noticed it, but Mai knew Naru better than anyone save for Lin and Madoka. In his eyes, she could see the equivalent of his face falling in exasperation and… was that disappointment?

"But Mai," He said laying a hand on her shoulder. "The man you love is dead."

Mai knew that man Naru was referring to was Gene. He still couldn't or _wouldn't_ accept that _he_ was the one Mai had fallen in love with, not Gene. But, he'd never believe her until he came to terms with it himself; Mai knew from past experience. And until that happened, Mai guessed she was stuck as a swan.

With no more to say Mai ushered Naru off to wake the others and get out of here before Rothbart got back. When all were out of earshot Mai looked at her reflection from the bank and let a tear trail slowly down her cheek.

"Yes." She agreed, talking to the woman in the water. "I guess the man I love _is_ dead."

* * *

Before anyone asks, I cut the song because I didn't feel like writing about all the scenes where there's nothing of any real importance going on, that and me being a little lazy. If you wonder what they're wearing in the flashback scene just look up the song on Youtube, I decided that the outfits were adequate enough to keep so... there you have that. For those of you who didn't understand one of the words: temerity; synonym for audacity. Also I had to change one of the words in the original song because Naru smiling (or grinning as Derek does in the movie) at the sight of a girl is just out of character for him.

now that my little mini rant is over. Review!


	3. Chapter 3

Okay, this was definitely a challenge since I didn't exactly know where I wanted to go next. At any rate I think it could have been longer but the end seemed like a good stopping point so I did.

Disclaimer: I do not hold ownership to Ghost Hunt or the Swan Princess

* * *

Naru had gotten everyone back the base before they woke up, and under Mai's explicit discretion he told no one he knew what happened to her because; as she put it, "The walls have ears!"

No one else mentioned anything of the dreams they had, it seems they were still coming to grips with the reality that they had all had a past life involving this castle. Naru himself was still trying to get a handle on his memory reel.

In it he had been a young prince named Derek, and his mother -Ayako of all people- was conspiring with the king of another kingdom -Monk, unbelievably- to set him up with the young princess of him. She looked like Mai, but her name was Odette. Every summer, they were brought together in hopes that they'd fall in love and on more than one occasion they were at each other's throats, mostly because they didn't really get along and because Odette would best him in everything from mock sword fights to simple card games.

But the years passed and the last memory he remembered seeing was Derek and Odette, dancing, happily in love as only two people who have always loved each other can be. They stared into each other's eyes and the distance closed, Derek's lips taking Odette's in a gentle kiss. There had to have been some mistake. If he really was to believe that he and Mai were reincarnations of Odette and Derek then it meant that Mai really did love him and it was up to him to break the spell. But Mai loved Gene, right?

He just didn't know anymore. He was sure he knew when Mai first confessed to him three months ago. She was just substituting him for his brother, as many girls often did when they came confessing to him thinking he was Gene. It couldn't be him; there was no reason for it to be. He was as Mai said; cold, arrogant, narcissistic, and an all-around pain in the derriere. Mai had fallen for the kind smiles, the reassuring words of comfort, the tenderness that he didn't possess. So why would it be him?

His thoughts turned to Derek. The prince, in essence, was the same as him and yet Odette fell in love regardless of how he had treated her over the years. They had been cruel to one another, and couldn't stand being in the same room with each other for more than five minutes. So why had they fallen in love? The answer was simple; when you spend an extended amount of time with someone, your walls start to lower because you start to trust the person. Eventually you can see hidden sides surface, sides you keep hidden so no one will use you. Both Odette and Mai had that quality about them that made people do those things. You would let out sides of yourself you thought you'd never see because they let you feel it was okay to do so.

Maybe that was why he had kept her on after that first case. Sure she had been a little irritating, but he had forced her to do as he said with a nonexistent threat of prosecution hanging over her head. Of course she'd be a little resentful towards him. But on top of all that she trusted him implicitly on some sort of deep, stupid level and she always gave someone either a second chance when they didn't deserve it or the benefit of the doubt when asking them.

Overall it made her presence very calming and it made her very hard to hate, you could get irritated with her for sure but you could never actually hate her.

His mind was wandering. He needed to figure out _why_ Mai would have fallen in love with him for some reason other than his looks. He had no idea that it was the way he cared for all the people he surrounded himself with, though he had odd ways of showing it, or maybe it was when he smiled at her for the first time. Actually _smiled_, not the fake one he'd used when they first met or the condescending smirk he used when she made a wrong assumption of something that was clearly in line with what he thought. She knew then that it had been something special and something he hadn't done in a long, long time.

As it was though, Naru had no idea what it was that had made Mai fall in love with him, well if that was the truth. Surprisingly, though he had always been narcissistic about himself and his abilities, he was very hard on himself when it came to matters of the heart. No real surprise since he'd always been compared to his brother when it came to their personalities.

"_Look, it's Gene and Oliver." One little girl whispered to another as the boys walked past them through the park, hand in hand with their new mother._

"_Oh, they're so cute!" the second exclaimed._

"_I know." The first agreed. "I really, really like Gene."_

"_What about Oliver?"_

"_Well, he's good looking, but so cold. If only he'd be more like his brother." The first sighed whimsically._

"_Why do you think Gene is so nice and Oliver's so rude?" the second asked, a confused look surfacing._

"_Maybe when Gene and Oliver were born some evil witch came and took all of Oliver's kindness and put it in Gene." The first reasoned with her six-year old mind._

"_Oh, I wish I could break the spell! I want to grow up and marry a prince as good-looking as they are!" The second squealed._

"_Me too!" The first agreed; sighing dreamily as the boys walked out of sight._

They thought he had not heard them, how stupid. It had been a huge annoyance for them to think that he would grow up to be a prince -though the irony of that statement was not lost on him now- and a huge blow to his ego. He could be polite, but never genuinely kind like Gene always was. People -mostly girls- had always preferred Gene to him, and before it had never bothered him. But when he now thought of Mai preferring Gene to him felt like he had just plunged a knife into his chest.

Why? The memories had dictated that he'd fallen in love with Odette as Derek, but that was centuries ago and there may have been changes to them that wouldn't allow for the same thing to happen, yet it was. So was he falling in love with Mai? He honestly didn't know.

Speaking of Mai, the girl turned swan just sat there on the surface, occasionally talking to Gene but the spirit could tell she wanted to be alone. After all she had practically confessed to her boss again and he inadvertently turned her down. She felt as though she had fallen into the depths of despair at the realization.

Mai sighed; he really never was going to love anyone was he? Even though he'd rescued Gene, well what was left of him, and brought him home Naru was still too consumed with his twin's death to even consider something like that. It was hopeless; Mai would never break the spell unless she decided to marry the scumbag sorcerer spirit that had cast it on her. Yeah right, like that was gonna happen.

Then again, Mai started to wonder, why _not_ marry the sorcerer? She could be human full time again, and with his magic she would never be wanting, she would live surrounded by spirits whose sole purpose was to serve her. What was not to like?

But, she would also not be able to live as a free person; she'd forever be chained to the castle. She'd never be able to go home, never be able to see the graves of her parents, and never be able to be with the man she really loved, and worst of all; never hold her newborn child in her arms. Yes, that had to be the ultimate price for all this. She was becoming an eternal sacrificial virgin. Mai sighed again, there really was no way she could win was there?

Naru looked over at the screens once more, specifically the one that held the camera which had been moved to keep an eye on Mai. The bird girl seemed to be brooding over something; he just wished he could figure out what. Unfortunately, he could not do so until nightfall, more specifically after the spirit sorcerer was flat out rejected by Mai. In the recesses of his mind Naru let out a dark chuckle: the spirit could ask Mai every night until the end of time: she would say no; that much he was sure of.

But where did that leave him? He still didn't know, he wondered; why hadn't Mai just agreed to marry the sorcerer? Then all the things Mai had thought about came, unbidden, through his mind. He startled, that was new. It was almost as if he'd heard Mai's voice as she thought about these things. Naru thought back to the memories he'd relived last night. Something didn't add up. Why was the sorcerer after _Mai_ in the first place? It seemed as though Derek was the one with more land. The memories had begun at their first summer together and ended at the kiss. He needed the full story about this; and of course the only one who could provide it was a swan. And he couldn't very well just go over to Mai and ask her to try and dream about it.

Maybe…. No. No, no, no, no, no. he could not do it. He did not have the power to do so. And even if he did, there was no telling what he would dream about. But, there was no other choice. However, when Mai had a dream she was usually called into the dream and that was the reason she fell asleep on cases. There was no telling what he would do when he got there. Well, he had to try something.

There was just one problem. Naru had very certain sleeping conditions. It had to be pitch black in his room and absolutely silent. So what could he do? Maybe Lin would have some ideas.

Mai watched the sun wane as the day passed by slowly, only looking forward to the coming of the evening to be human for a few precious moments. She idly wondered if Naru would come and visit her again. That was silly, he was probably working himself to death simply to solve the case and add another notch to his already extensive belt of achievements.

Mai sighed, what was she to do? Repetitive, but there was really nothing else to think of when all she wanted was to be human again.

Time passed. Night fell, and Rothbart came a courting once more.

"Odette!" he called. "Where are you?"

Mai, though she now had the ability to speak, chose not to reply.

"Odette! If you don't show yourself this instant I swear I will vaporize your little friends!" the sorcerer threatened.

Mai, spurned by worry for her family came from the bushes. "You called." She said sullenly.

"Have you thought about my little offer?" Rothbart asked.

"I have," Mai replied. "and my answer is still the same. I will _never_ marry you." She finished disdainfully.

Rothbart growled. "Very well." He conceded. "But remember, we have all of eternity to repeat thins until you say yes." with that, the spirit disappeared.

Sighing, Mai turned to the surface of the lake. The reflection of the moon and her human form stared back at her and Mai let the tears trail; unbidden in their course. Naru was never going to come around. She was going to be stuck like this forever.

Sounds of footsteps drew her attention. Mai turned to see Naru strolling towards her; his brow furrowed in concentration.

"Naru? " Mai asked. "Naru what is it?"

He looked at her. Beautiful. "Mai. I-" he cut himself off. "I need your help."

"With what?" Mai asked.

"I need some information, but I need it directly from the source." Naru said as way of an explanation.

"What does this have to with me?" Mai asked.

"When you get pulled into a dream, what happens?"

"Oh," this was unexpected. "well, normally I just feel this slight pull, and I go under. There's not much to it really."

"Do you think you could help get me to sleep?" Naru asked.

"I suppose." Mai said looking around. "Come here." She led him to the base of an overly large willow tree and sat down against it. She motioned for him to sit down beside her. He did so, resting his head against the trunk. Mai bit her lip. "Um, Naru?"

He looked over at her. "What is it?"

Instead of replying, Mai pulled on his shirt until his head fell into her lap. Ashe began stroking his hair and humming a soft tune. Naru stilled, Luella had never done this for him, mostly because he wouldn't let her, and he found it felt nice. It was comforting, it was soothing, it was _loving_. And that's what hit him most of all. So, as Mai continued to stroke his hair, Naru fell into a fitful sleep. The branches of the weeping tree hiding them from view and creating a land of enchanting bliss.

* * *

I have nothing else to say right now. Review!


	4. NOT A REAL CHAPTER!

Hey everyone! Big news! As much as I hate to be the bearer of bad news this needs to be said now. I habve recently gotten a job in a startup company; as such it'll be a little bit of a frenzy before things settle down but until that happens I regretfully won't be able to update what with school, afterschool activities, life in general and now this job. I apologize greatly for this and am crying as I have written this. However, until I can update again i leave you all a parting gift. A ghost hunt crossover oneshot which is long and completely finished. I hope you all take the time to read it, and enjoy it in my updating absence.

Best wishes and happy reading,

-Piercing Thorn


End file.
